Pete Golding doesn’t sound like a coach looking to rebuild his defense during the open week.
He sounds like a coach looking for the right players to run it.
After what happened at Florida, playing time has to be part of the conversation.
Ole Miss struggled to get off blocks, fit the run and finish tackles. Florida consistently found room on the ground, and when the first defender didn’t make the play, manageable gains became much bigger ones.
Golding knows that can’t continue.
“I think tackling the guy with the ball is a real thing on defense,” Golding said. “That’s kind of important.”
That sounds simple, but that’s really where this starts.
Ole Miss doesn’t need to add a bunch of new calls. In some cases, simplifying things could actually help the Rebels play faster instead of thinking too much.
See it. Trust it. Go make the play.
Ole Miss has already shown flashes of being able to do that. The problem is doing it consistently.
Florida exposed the inconsistency.
Now Golding has an open week to figure out who he can trust when the Rebels get back on the field.
“We get to choose who plays,” Golding said. “We got to go find 11 guys in all three phases that are doing that.”
That might be the most important part of this entire open week.
Because correcting mistakes is one thing.
Deciding who gets the opportunity to correct them on Saturdays is another.
If somebody is tackling better in practice, fitting the run correctly and playing with more physicality, Golding has made it pretty clear he’s looking for those guys.
That makes the defensive rotation worth watching.
Up front, Ole Miss has to be stronger at the point of attack, control blocks and close running lanes.
The linebackers have to fit the run cleaner and get downhill without hesitation.
On the back end, the Rebels have to maintain leverage and finish tackles in space.
And all 11 have to get to the football.
One player out of position can open a running lane. One missed tackle can turn a five-yard gain into 25.
Those are the plays Ole Miss has to eliminate.
Keaton Thomas called the performance against the run “inexcusable.”
Now the Rebels get a chance to do something about it.
Ole Miss is 3-1 with Vanderbilt waiting in Nashville on Oct. 10. There’s still plenty in front of this team, but there’s also something Ole Miss has to understand coming out of Gainesville.
Everybody saw the film.
“You put something on tape that other people are going to try to take advantage of,” Golding said. “You got to go get it off the tape.”
Until Ole Miss proves it can stop what Florida did, the Rebels should expect to see it again.
That’s why this open week matters.
Better tackling. Cleaner run fits. More physicality. And maybe some different faces getting opportunities.
The scheme isn’t being rebuilt. The standard is.
